we all have opinions, and ive stated mine, as have you
And yours is that drug addicts are directly responsible for soldiers losing their lives in Afghanistan? Right...
I can guarantee you that is true for those who are Heroin addicts. 97.4% of ALL Heroin in the UK is from Afghanistan. So yes they are directly responsible!
....Whether they are right or wrong, the Afghans/Taliban have an entirely valid point of view. From where they are sitting, the Western armed forces are intruders on their soil and they are defending their ways by any means they can, fair or foul and such is warfare. You don't need me to tell you that theirs is an entirely different culture. Personally I think the West is wrong to impose its own culture on them.
The Afghans are only responsible for taking advantage of the illegal trade in what becomes heroin, they are not responsible for those who of their own accord take the drugs nor for those who become addicted.
That's a whole new debate and going way off topic so i won't dwell on it. But I would suggest Robin that you are wrong and have no idea what "the West" is trying to impose. For a brief summary we are removing an oppressive regime that used brutal tactics to control its population. Such as throwing acid on girls who attended schools, chopped off the hands of those who had the Internet and harbors international terrorists and trained them to commit attacks around the world. Remember 9/11 took place before anyone had set foot in Afghanistan as did countless other attacks!
The point I was making is that if a drug addict in the UK buys some heroin. That money works it's way back to the Taliban who then use it to fund the purchase of explosives, weapons and ammunition (as well as other things). So they are directly linked to the deaths of UK service personnel in Afghanistan.
Yes it is an informed decision that they choose to make. Just as its an informed decision a serial killer, rapist or paedophile makes before committing their crimes. Doesn't mean I should feel sorry for them or have one iota of pity if they die.
The ones i do have Pity for are those that are forced to become drug addicts through pimps/coercion/torture etc. Amy Winehouse had none of that. She had everything at her disposal to beat drink & drugs but chose to carry on taking them.